Below is a useful range of tools that provide more background information surrounding the BP oil spill. The visuals and supplemental documents serve to demonstrate the deficiencies in BP's approach to safety compared to industry norms. In addition, the Resources section allows America's energy workers to explain the great impact that the BP oil spill has on their everyday lives. Together, these tools demonstrate why it is critical to continue to promote industry safety standards, preserve America's energy jobs, and keep energy prices low for American consumers.
Infographic: BP’s Five Fatal Flaws
Sometimes, the technical jargon used by industry experts may as well be a foreign language: meaningless until deciphered. Consequently, when faced with highly specialized situation, it’s useful to have some translation. In the case of BP’s Gulf spill, industry experts have provided detailed accounts that explain the various mistakes British Petroleum made in the lead up to the April 20th...
Read MoreAccountability
A Culture of Evasion BP has a tendency to downplay the impact of its workplace accidents wherever possible. In the aftermath of such large-scale accidents such as the Texas City refinery explosion, the leaks at Prudhoe Bay and other problems in Alaska, and the BP Gulf Spill, the company has engaged in a cycle of avoiding blame wherever possible. Prudhoe Bay In the wake of BP’s malfeasance in...
Read MoreBP: Step by Step to Disaster
The BP Gulf disaster was a tragic accident, but also a preventable accident. It was the decisions made by BP officials regarding the design and safety oversight of the well prior to April 20 that eventually led the oil rig to explode and sink to the ocean floor.
Read MoreOverview of a Failed Approach
BP’s actions in the lead up to the April 20 oil rig disaster stand in sharp contrast to the rigorous safety standards to which the rest of the industry adheres. The Gulf catastrophe was not caused by a single misstep, but by a series of poor decisions in which BP ignored the rigorous practices which have enabled America’s oil and gas industry to successfully drill over 50,000 offshore wells...
Read MoreThe Corner Cutting Culture
For years leading up to the biggest environmental disaster in U.S. history, BP routinely and flagrantly disregarded standard industry safety protocols and cut operational corners to maximize profits. The result was an environment where the question of major disasters became ‘when’, not ‘if’.
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